Beijing, 8 August 2015 - The 2015 Sustainable Consumption Week kicked off in China today with the theme "Green Life, Consume with Wisdom", aiming to raise awareness about sustainable consumption, promote conscious purchasing decisions and create enabling policies for responsible consumption.
Holding the position of a global manufacturing hub, China is already the world's largest consumer of primary materials, such as fossil fuels and metal ores. But with increasing affluence and a rapidly growing middle class, it has also become the world's second largest private consumer market, with household expenditure growing from around US $554 billion in 2000 to over US $3.4 trillion in 2014 according to the World Bank.
China Sustainable Consumption Week aims to change the current consumption patterns, so that these trillions of dollars are spent on goods and services with lower resource and energy intensity. The adoption of sustainable practices and lifestyles in the world's second largest economy could have a positive environmental impact on a global scale.
Several recognizable Chinese and global brands have joined this effort, including GOME, Wal-Mart, Vanguard, IKEA and H&M. Overall, more than 600 chain stores all over the country will participate in the project. The activities for the week will focus on sustainable food sources, energy efficient appliances and eco friendly labeling.
The attractions prepared by organizers include media events, on-site demonstrations, educational quizzes on sustainable consumption and a Sustainable Seafood Festival. In addition to drawing public attention to eco-labels and sustainable brands, the week will also highlight China's low carbon retail solutions and launch a Sustainable Seafood list.
By involving both consumers and businesses, China's Sustainable Consumption Week aims to inspire more retailers to integrate sustainability into their business strategy, not only as part of their social responsibility activities, but as the core of their development planning.
Jointly organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN-China Sustainable Consumption Partnership, the China Chain Store & Franchise Association (CCFA), the World Wildlife Fund China (WWF) and the China Sustainable Retailer Roundtable, the sustainable consumption week was inaugurated during a launch ceremony in Beijing, today.
China's sustainable consumption week taps into the success of this year's World Environment Day. Celebrated on 5 June under the theme 'Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care', it encouraged people to rethink their lifestyles and, through conscious consumer decisions, decrease humanity's collective impact on nature's resources.
